万物简史 第644期:一个星球,一次实验(1)

30 GOOD-BYE

第三十章 一个星球，一次实验

In the early 1680s, at just about the time that Edmond Halley and his friends Christopher Wren¹ and Robert Hooke

17世纪80年代初，差不多就在埃德蒙.哈雷和他的朋友克里斯托弗.雷恩及罗伯特.胡克

were settling down in a London coffeehouse and embarking² on the casual wager³ that would result eventually in Isaac Newton's Principia , Henry Cavendish's weighing of the Earth,

坐在伦敦的一家咖啡屋里随便打赌的时候他们的这一赌注最终导致了艾萨克.牛顿的《原理》、亨利.卡文迪许关于地球的重量

and many of the other inspired and commendable⁴ undertakings⁵ that have occupied us for much of the past four hundred pages,

以及本书前面所提及的其他不少令人鼓舞和赞叹不已的成果的出现

a rather less desirable milestone⁶ was being passed on the island of Mauritius,

在印度洋上距离马达加斯加东海岸约1300公里的毛里求斯，

far out in the Indian Ocean some eight hundred miles off the east coast of Madagascar.

一件人们不愿意看到的重大事件正在发生。

There, some forgotten sailor or sailor's pet was harrying⁷ to death the last of the dodos,

在那里，有个不知道姓名的船员，抑或是他喂养的宠物，正在捕杀最后一批渡渡鸟。

the famously flightless bird whose dim but trusting nature and lack of leggy zip made it a rather irresistible⁸ target for bored young tars⁹ on shore leave.

这种鸟因其不能飞翔而著名，它呆头呆脑，容易上当，也缺少快速奔跑的能力，因此它成了来海滩度假的闲得无聊的年轻人富有诱惑力的捕猎目标。

Millions of years of peaceful isolation¹⁰ had not prepared it for the erratic¹¹ and deeply unnerving behavior of human beings.

数百万年与世隔绝的安宁生活，使得它对人类不可理喻的残忍行为缺少准备。

We don't know precisely¹² the circumstances, or even year, attending the last moments of the last dodo,

对于最后一只渡渡鸟消失时的情况，以及它灭绝的年份，我们并不是很清楚。

so we don't know which arrived first, a world that contained a Principia or one that had no dodos,

因此，牛顿《原理》的问世和渡渡鸟，的灭绝究竟谁先谁后，我们无从考证，

but we do know that they happened at more or less the same time.

但是我们可以肯定这两件事几乎发生在同一时间。

You would be hard pressed, I would submit, to find a better pairing of occurrences to illustrate¹³ the divine and felonious nature of the human being

我承认，你很难找得到同样的两件事来说明人类本性中的善与恶

a species of organism that is capable of unpicking the deepest secrets of the heavens while at the same time pounding into extinction¹⁴,

同一种生物，一方面能够解开宇宙最深奥的秘密，另一方面却在无缘无故地灭绝

for no purpose at all, a creature that never did us any harm and wasn't even remotely capable of understanding what we were doing to it as we did it.

一种对我们不构成任何威胁，甚至对我们对它们所做的一切都浑然无知的生灵。

Indeed, dodos were so spectacularly short on insight, it is reported,

事实上，渡渡鸟是如此缺乏洞察力，据说，

1 wren   

n.鹪鹩；英国皇家海军女子服务队成员

参考例句：

• A wren is a kind of short-winged songbird.鹪鹩是一种短翼的鸣禽。
• My bird guide confirmed that a Carolina wren had discovered the thickets near my house.我掌握的鸟类知识使我确信，一只卡罗莱纳州鹪鹩已经发现了我家的这个灌木丛。

2 embarking   

乘船( embark的现在分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• He's embarking on a new career as a writer. 他即将开始新的职业生涯——当一名作家。
• The campaign on which were embarking was backed up by such intricate and detailed maintenance arrangemets. 我们实施的战争，须要如此复杂及详细的维护准备。

3 wager   

n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌

参考例句：

• They laid a wager on the result of the race.他们以竞赛的结果打赌。
• I made a wager that our team would win.我打赌我们的队会赢。

4 commendable   

adj.值得称赞的

参考例句：

• The government's action here is highly commendable.政府这样的行动值得高度赞扬。
• Such carping is not commendable.这样吹毛求疵真不大好。

5 undertakings   

企业( undertaking的名词复数 )； 保证； 殡仪业； 任务

参考例句：

• The principle of diligence and frugality applies to all undertakings. 勤俭节约的原则适用于一切事业。
• Such undertakings require the precise planning and foresight of military operations. 此举要求军事上战役中所需要的准确布置和预见。

6 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

7 harrying   

v.使苦恼( harry的现在分词 )；不断烦扰；一再袭击；侵扰

参考例句：

• The tax authorities have been harrying her for repayment. 税务局一直在催她补交税款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is increasingly active in harrying the government in late-night debates. 他越来越活跃，在深夜辩论中不断攻击政府。 来自辞典例句

8 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。

9 tars   

焦油，沥青，柏油( tar的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Around 280 degrees C, Volatile gases and flammable tars are released. 在大约摄氏280度，挥发性的气体和可燃焦被放出。
• Tars could be seen walking towards the harbor. 可以看到水手正在走向港口。

10 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

11 erratic   

adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的

参考例句：

• The old man had always been cranky and erratic.那老头儿性情古怪,反复无常。
• The erratic fluctuation of market prices is in consequence of unstable economy.经济波动致使市场物价忽起忽落。

12 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

13 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

14 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。